SOURCE: “Books of the Times: The Wet Underbelly of Chicago,” in New York Times, June 20, 1994.

In the following review, Lehmann-Haupt complains that Paretsky's Tunnel Vision lacks a satisfying ending and that the plot suffers from a lack of complexity.

Just when work is scarce and bills are going unpaid, a client asks Vic to contribute her free time to finding out why a certain bank has suddenly withdrawn its support of a project to provide low-cost housing for single mothers. And to top off a bad day, Vic is obliged to attend a dinner party for the rich and powerful.

But adversity is the spice of Vic's life, as readers may know from following her misadventures in thrillers including Bitter Medicine, Burn Marks and Guardian Angel. And each of the glitches in her day results in an unpleasant payoff. When she descends to the basement of her office...